Central New Mexico Community College was one of three colleges tapped for a two-year study examining if “mobility skills credentials” help graduates land jobs.
Last year, CNM created “micro-credentials” that students can obtain while doing their regular coursework. They are badges that emphasize the college’s graduates have studied things such as empathy, resilience and collaboration, which are three of the nine badges that students can obtain.
Asa Stone, a president fellow at CNM, said the college will receive about $50,000 in grant money to study and create a report on how the badges affect CNM students entering the workforce over a two-year period.
Brad Moore, a CNM spokesman, said that the college worked with Jaynes Construction and TLC Plumbing and Utility to create the badges. The idea is that it allows students, particularly those graduating with a trade degree in an area like welding, to better advertise their skills to prospective employers.
This week, Education Design Lab, which works to address historically underserved people in higher education, announced that CNM was one of three colleges in the country chosen to examine how the “micro-credentials” are used. The University of Maine and San Jose State University have similar badges and are also part of the study.
The lab said CNM was selected, in part, because its student population has a large percentage of Latino and adult learners.
